Living with an Illness

Many people who suffer from not only ankylosing spondylitis, but also other autoimmune disorders are familiar with these four words. The problem with the question is that there is no simple answer. For me, my symptoms can change daily. For example, yesterday I couldn’t turn my neck, but today my …

How ironic is it that one of my favorite bands is Life of Agony? Never in a million years would I think I would end up living a life of agony. I am not just speaking of the physical pain, but of the emotional pain that goes along with suffering …

I have many visible scars from various diagnostic procedures over the last 18 months. I have a scar on my ribcage from my chest drain, a scar just under my arm pit, and a scar just underneath my right breast, from my Hodgkin’s biopsy. I also have scars on my …

I had a doctor growing up who nicknamed me Mona Lisa. He said I hid behind my smile. I was a mystery to some doctors partly because if they asked how I felt, I would grin and respond with, “I’m fine.” He would say that he could see the wheels …

What was I thinking? I was supposed to post to The Fight Like A Girl Club over a week ago. As a power team writer, I write on topics related to the disease I fight, ankylosing spondylitis, and post once a month. Unfortunately I’m fighting AS which means that I …

During my journey with cancer, visitors who appeared at my bedside delivered an array of reactions–no two were the same.  It taught me a lot about what to tell someone going through cancer and how to treat them.  What I really didn’t want was to be treated differently because of …

Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of leukemia treatment is the long hospitalizations most patients must endure.  This is because the chemotherapy given to most people with leukemia is very strong and wipes out much of their bone marrow, leaving just the stem cells behind.  It takes several weeks …

Many of us take medication to treat Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS, whether it be Lyrica, Cymbalta, Gabapentin, etc…in addition to our routines of light exercise and good diet. Some of us cannot tolerate these medications, due to MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities).  Fibromyalgia almost instantly equals getting all of the strange and …

When a person lives with Ankylosing Spondylitis or other chronic illnesses, we find ourselves holding on to hope, facing despair, and constant challenges. We embrace the hurdles. First, because we have no choice knowing we can never give up. Second, and no less important, because we are willing to carry …

Life is not predictable. Some days I wish I knew exactly what to expect and where my life was headed, because then I would be prepared. I would brace myself for the impact or be ready with champagne for the celebrations. I was not prepared for living with chronic pain …